Reading the Book’s Construction and Images

Reading the Book's Construction and Images: Images

Questions to Consider:

Images

  • Examine the portrayal and illustration of the characters (protagonists, antagonists, secondary characters), including their clothes, expressions, voices, actions, etc. What does this tell you about their cultural capital? How do these choices position the characters within the social context depicted by the words and images?
  • What do the illustrations tell you about the setting of the story? For example, is it daytime, rural/urban, and what era is represented?  How do the pictures communicate place? What spaces do the characters occupy?
  • What can you learn about families from the illustrations?
  • What information do the illustrations provide about social identities (race, gender, age, socioeconomic status, etc) and relationships among social identities?  
  • What meanings do the construction and design elements (color, shape, line, perspective, composition, typography) of the book convey about the people, place, power, and worldviews? 
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